LAKEPORT, Calif. – The Board of Supervisors on Thursday unanimously approved an urgency ordinance to protect residents of the unincorporated county against price gouging for rental housing and unlawful evictions during the COVID-19 state of emergency.

County Counsel Anita Grant presented the urgency ordinance, which required a four-fifths vote, to the board at the request of Supervisor Rob Brown.

Grant said the board has taken similar action during previous states of emergency in the county.

Brown said it’s also consistent with an order already put in place by Gov. Gavin Newsom.

He said it isn’t meant to allow people to not pay their rent, but rather is intended to protect people from getting kicked out of their homes because of the illness.

Grant said that, during the state of emergency, properties cannot be rented for more than the average rental price, defined in the ordinance as the price for the dwelling unit during the 30-day period immediately preceding the emergency.

She said it also prevents landlords from evicting someone and then charging a new tenant a greater amount for rent.

Violation of the urgency ordinance is a misdemeanor punishable by a fine of not more than $20,000.

There was no public input on the ordinance, which Brown moved to approve and the board members joined in approving 5-0.

On Thursday the city of Clearlake enacted its own urgency ordinance, in effect until at least May 19, that imposes a moratorium on residential evictions for those impacted by COVID-19, as Lake County News has reported.

The city’s ordinance also doesn’t waive a tenant’s obligations to pay back rent but offers short-term protection from eviction due to the inability to pay rent. Tenants have up to 180 days after the ordinance’s March 19 implementation to pay their landlord all unpaid rent.

Email Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . Follow her on Twitter, @ERLarson, or Lake County News, @LakeCoNews.

To reduce the risks of COVID-19 in correctional settings, Gov. Gavin Newsom on Tuesday issued an executive order directing the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation secretary to temporarily halt the intake and/or transfer of inmates and youth into the state’s 35 prisons and four youth correctional facilities.

Those inmates and youth will remain in county custody for the next 30 days. This period can be extended if needed.

This action builds on the state and local correctional and public safety leaders’ longstanding partnership, to protect public health and safety in the context of the COVID-19 crisis.

The emergency authority is granted to the governor under the Emergency Services Act and to the CDCR Secretary under Cal Penal Code section 2900(b).

“The state of California is responding in real-time and fighting hard to deploy every resource to reduce the spread of COVID-19, and we are working with our public health experts, corrections system and our local sheriff’s departments to ensure proper protocols and procedures are in place to effectively limit risks in correctional facilities,” said Gov. Newsom.

Additionally, the executive order directs the Board of Parole Hearings to develop a process to conduct all scheduled parole suitability hearings through videoconferencing starting no later than April 13, 2020, and for the next 60 days.

That process would facilitate remote participation of those typically in attendance, including staff, parole board members, victims, families and their representatives, inmates, attorneys and others.

The order was issued to protect the health, safety and welfare of state inmates, youth, and staff following the recent confirmed COVID-19 cases in four separate state prisons affecting five correctional officers and one inmate.

A copy of the Governor’s executive order is below.

3.24.20-EO-N-36-20-text by LakeCoNews on Scribd

LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – The county of Lake reported late Tuesday afternoon that, effective immediately, it has closed all county-owned parks.

The Department of Public Services has been working closely with Lake County’s Public Health Officer, Gary Pace, MD, MPH, who last week issued a countywide shelter in place order to stop the potential spread of COVID-19.

As of Tuesday, Pace said no positive cases of COVID-19 have been identified in Lake County.

However, based on Pace’s Public Health Order C20-3 and Addendum C20-3, all county parks were closed on Tuesday to all uses except essential activities.

The following orders are emphasized:

– Any outdoor activity such as walking, hiking or running shall be in compliance with Social Distancing Requirements (i.e., maintain 6 feet from any individual not part of your specific household).

– Public events and gatherings and most outdoor events like disc golf, golf, skate park use, basketball, tennis, etc. are prohibited.

– Guided, sport, and/or recreational fishing are prohibited.

– All public boat ramps, docks and other waterway entryways are blocked.

– To prevent the spread of infection, all playground equipment is closed. The National Institutes of Health found COVID-19 is detectable “up to two to three days on plastic and stainless steel.”

The county’s action followed similar measures taken by the cities of Clearlake and Lakeport to close all of their parks, as Lake County News has reported.

Lake PH Order Shelter in Place 03.23.2020 C20-3 (A2) 03.23.2020 by LakeCoNews on Scribd

CLEARLAKE, Calif. – On Tuesday, Clearlake City Manager Alan Flora – acting as the director of Emergency Services for the city of Clearlake – announced the closure of all city parks, including Austin Beach, Austin Park and Highlands Park, in the interest of public health and safety.

The new round of park closures are effective immediately, Flora said.

This is in addition to the closure of Redbud Park and Thompson Harbor which took place on Sunday.

The measures are being taken to prevent the potential spread of COVID-19.

On Tuesday morning, Lake County Public Health Officer Dr. Gary Pace said there are still no confirmed cases of the virus in Lake County.

Flora said all parts of City parks – including boat launch ramps, beaches, parking lots and any
recreation facilities, such as basketball and tennis courts and the skate park – are now closed to the public.

No person shall enter the parks during the closure or remain in the parks after having been notified of the closure and having been asked to leave by any peace officer or other person so designated by the city manager or chief of police, according to Flora’s order.

The order does not apply to peace officers, fire and rescue personnel or other governmental officials, or electrical, sewage or utility workers, or contractors thereof, acting within the scope of their official duties, Flora said.

“The time to prevent the spread of COVID-19 is now,” said Flora. “There are many people still not practicing proper social distancing and not heeding the Public Health officer’s orders. These additional closures are necessary to stop the spread of COVID-19 and to keep our community safe.”

LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – With Lake County residents remaining under a shelter in place order that had more restrictions added to it over the weekend, law enforcement continues to try to educate the community but is prepared to issue citations if necessary.

Dr. Gary Pace’s shelter in place order went into effect early Thursday. On Sunday, he added additional restrictions that closed down local waterways and lodging facilities unless they are serving medical staff, COVID-19 emergency workers, construction workers of critical infrastructure and permanent residents who have resided on-site since prior to March 9.

On Monday, Pace released another addendum to the order, which can be seen below, to clarify the order language, in particular regarding boating.

Lakeport Police Chief Brad Rasmussen said he and the leaders of other local law enforcement agencies, including Sheriff Brian Martin and Clearlake Police Chief Andrew White, consulted with Pace on the creation of the health order and its enforceability.

Martin said he didn’t expect any more restrictions coming, as the lake and the area’s lodging facilities were the big concerns.

As of early Tuesday, no positive tests for COVID-19 have been confirmed in Lake County. Elsewhere across the country, however, the number of infections is climbing.

The tightening of local restrictions comes as US Surgeon General Jerome Adams warned that this week the COVID-19 outbreak in the United States is “going to get bad,” with the rate of infections predicted to rise exponentially because people are not following guidelines to stay at home or keep a safe distance from other people when they’re out.

Rasmussen said that the influx of people coming into Lake County from out of the area resulted in the tightening of local restrictions.

He said that on Sunday morning there were 60 cars parked at local motels, and people standing close together on the city’s docks while fishing, not following social distancing guidelines.

There are a lot of people coming from the Bay Area – where infection numbers are rising – into Lake County in order to stay at their second homes. “It’s a big concern right now,” Rasmussen said.

Martin echoed that concern, noting the potential for the illness to spread to Lake County from the Bay Area.

Rasmussen said he thinks the new orders issued over the weekend will help to control that activity. “The time to take restricting action is before anybody is sick,” he said, adding that if county officials wait until people start getting sick, it will be too late.

“It will overwhelm the capacity of our health care here in Lake County,” Rasmussen said.

While some outdoor activity is allowed, White said that in Clearlake they were seeing large groups of people at Redbud Park.

Based on Dr. Pace’s feedback, White said that activity was problematic and created public safety risk. That resulted in the city of Clearlake issuing an emergency directive on Sunday that closed the park, followed up by the Public Health officer’s updated order that included the closure of the lake and other county waterways.

Violating the local shelter in place order is a misdemeanor punishable by a $500 fine, jail time or both.

Martin, Rasmussen and White said all of their staff are focusing first on education, but they’re prepared to take enforcement action if necessary.

“We want to use citations as a last resort,” said Martin.

All of the agencies also are keenly aware of the impact on businesses due to having to close.

White said the Clearlake Police Department has issued one citation. They’re the only agency to do so thus far.

“Our primary focus has been on public messaging and education when violations are observed,” he said. “We have issued one administrative citation for $500 for an individual who was warned twice to follow the order but instead decided to loiter near the entrance to a local grocery store. We have received voluntary compliance in all other cases.”

The sheriff and the police chiefs said some nonessential businesses have remained open even after the order but deputies and officers have been getting compliance as they do more outreach not just to those operations but to the community at large.

In Lakeport on Monday evening, police contacted a large group of people who were fishing on public property, which isn’t allowed under the order, Rasmussen said.

“We’re going to have to ramp up the enforcement if people won’t listen. We really need people to understand that once it gets a foothold it can multiply very quickly,” Rasmussen said of the virus.

When people do go out for allowed activities such as visiting essential businesses, White reminded them that social distancing is important.

“All in all, most people are being cooperative and we want to focus on that,” said White. “Those who choose to actively defy the order or find loopholes are potentially endangering the welfare of the rest of our community. Good common sense can go a long way and allow the Health Department to focus on their response as opposed to continually patching loopholes. We are all in this together.”

Martin said he’s gotten some blowback due to the measures, but he believes he’s received more support from people in the community who are concerned about the virus’ spread.

“There’s a lot of people who understand this,” he said. “Nobody likes having their freedoms impinged on, me included.”

Officers and deputies are reporting to be holding up well, and are following protocols for protecting themselves and the community.

“We’ve made a lot of changes in how we’re operating in the interests of protecting all our staff,” said Rasmussen, explaining they have strict policies and directives not just in the police station but in the field in the interest of protecting staff and the public.

“We need to operate when we’re dealing with people as if we had it or as if the person we’re dealing with is sick, to protect us and them,” he said.

Rasmussen said the public should expect to see officers walking around with masks, gloves and goggles, as he did when he was out on duty.

Martin said his deputies have been given personal protective equipment such as gloves and goggles, which they will wear in situations where there is a significant risk of exposure.

He said there are lots of protective measures in place at the Lake County Jail, where visitations have been stopped and mostly felony cases – with exceptions for several serious misdemeanor charges – are being booked.

Martin said that, with word that a state prison inmate and three staffers in Los Angeles have tested positive for COVID-19, he expects to see a slow in the flow of inmates the state prison will take in.

Rasmussen said he appreciates the working relationship between local law enforcement, the Public Health Department and the two cities, and added that he, Martin and White are in constant communication about how to be united in the shelter in place order.

“We understand the serious impacts on these businesses and we’re trying to work this with all the compassion and empathy and professionalism that we can,” said Rasmussen.

The important thing now, said Rasmussen, is to work together and focus on keeping the virus out of Lake County.

Tomorrow, the community will need to help businesses get back on their feet. However, Rasmussen added, “We have to pick safety of the community first.”

Martin said there isn’t a single agency that is going to fix the problem of COVID-19, and that everyone needs to be part of the solution.

“It’s a society-wide effort,” he said.

Email Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Follow her on Twitter, @ERLarson, or Lake County News, @LakeCoNews.

Lake PH Order Shelter in Place 03.23.2020 C20-3 (A2) 03.23.2020 by LakeCoNews on Scribd

LAKEPORT, Calif. – In another measure taken to reduce the potential for spreading COVID-19, the city of Lakeport on Monday said it is closing its parks.

The closure goes into effect on Tuesday and will continue until further notice.

Facilities the city closed include Library Park and the adjoining public park, all public restrooms at those parks, as well as the dog park at Westside Community Park.

City officials reported that the closures are meant to maintain policies that enforce social distancing in an effort to curtail the spread of the novel coronavirus, which causes COVID-19.

As of Monday night, no positive cases of COVID-19 have been confirmed yet in Lake County.

On Sunday, the city of Clearlake closed Redbud Park and Thompson Harbor, including Redbud Park’s boat launch ramps, parking lot and other recreation facilities, as Lake County News has reported.

The state of California has awarded $100 million in emergency grant funding to California counties, continuums of care, and the state's 13 largest cities to help protect the health and safety of people experiencing homelessness during the COVID-19 pandemic.

On March 17, Gov. Gavin Newsom signed SB 89, which was approved unanimously by the state Legislature.

SB 89 authorized a total appropriation of up to $1 billion to provide assistance to help fight the spread of COVID-19.

On March 18, Gov. Newsom’s administration allocated $100 million in emergency funding from SB 89 to local governments to help protect this vulnerable population and reduce the spread of COVID-19 by safely getting individuals into shelter and providing immediate housing options.

The Business, Consumer Services and Housing Agency's Homeless Coordinating and Financing Council sent out award letters on Monday.

"The fast action by the legislature in approving this funding has been matched by the swift action taken by our Homeless Coordinating and Financing Council to get this money out the door and to the local jurisdictions where it's needed," said Gov. Newsom. "This is money that will be immediately available to help those who are homeless – among the most vulnerable to COVID-19."

California’s 13 largest cities, or cities that are also a county, will receive $42,968,750, while the state’s 58 counties will receive $27,343,750 and California’s 44 Continuums of Care will receive $29,687,500.

The Lake County Continuum of Care will receive $79,511.74, while the county of Lake has been awarded $73,152.92. Information was not immediately available on how those funds will be used locally.

A full list of allocations is published below.

The funding is intended for measures to help prevent and contain COVID-19 and can be used for medically indicated services and supplies, such as testing and hand-washing stations.

It can also be used for such things as acquiring new shelters, supplies and equipment for emergency shelter operations, increasing shelter capacity, street outreach, and acquiring locations to place individuals who need to be isolated because of COVID-19 illness or exposure.

032320 State of California COVID-19 Emergency Homelessness Funding Grant recipients by LakeCoNews on Scribd

LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – Lake County Social Services is offering caregivers information on how to keep themselves and those they care for safe as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to unfold.

Caregivers may be providing services to one or more Lake County residents who may be in one of the groups of people that the governor of California or local authorities have urged to isolate themselves at home in order to keep from getting sick.

COVID-19 can cause mild-to-moderate respiratory illness. Symptoms are very similar to the flu, including fever, cough and/or shortness of breath.

Caregivers can protect themselves and the people they are providing care for by:

• Washing your hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds, especially after blowing your nose, coughing, or sneezing, or having been in a public place.

• Avoiding touching your eyes, nose, or mouth with unwashed hands.

• Avoiding close contact with people who are sick.

• Staying away from work and other people if you become sick with a fever, cough, or respiratory symptoms.

• Eliminating or minimizing visitors.

If you are an In-Home Supportive Services care provider, please note that after meeting certain criteria, IHSS providers accrue eight hours of sick leave. Your sick leave hours can be claimed through the Electronic Services Portal or by submitting a paper sick leave claim, SOC 2302.

IHSS providers can utilize accrued sick leave in addition to working all of the IHSS hours assigned to them without incurring an overtime violation. You can find the number of available sick leave hours you are eligible to claim on your pay stub.

If you become ill or are experiencing the symptoms listed above, it is advised that you do not report to your recipient’s home. Instead, you should call your recipient and let them know you are ill, so they can contact another provider or their local county office to request assistance with finding another provider.

Please be advised, if you are not experiencing symptoms and have not tested positive for COVID-19, you should continue to provide services to your IHSS or another recipient.

The state and county are working hard to make sure you and your recipient remain safe and healthy. Please follow the guidelines described in this notice to prevent yourself from getting sick by washing your hands for at least 20 seconds, avoid touching your face, and follow public health guidance about other gatherings or activities.

In certain circumstances, you may be eligible for Unemployment Insurance benefits, paid family leave and disability insurance benefits. For more information, please refer to the Employment Development Department FAQs and the Resources for Employers and Workers from the Labor and Workforce Development Agency.

Please also see the California Department of Public Health website for more general information regarding COVID-19.

LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – On Monday, Lake County Public Health Officer Dr. Gary Pace issued the second addendum to his order last week that orders Lake County residents to shelter in place, offering new clarifications about lodging and boating activities.

The measures have been taken to prevent transmission of COVID-19. No positive cases have so far been confirmed in Lake County although dozens of tests have been conducted.

Pace’s original order to shelter in place was issued on Wednesday and went into effect on Thursday.

On Sunday, he issued Addendum No. 1 to the Order of the Health Officer No. C20-3, which kept all previous Health Officer Orders in place, but in section 5, parts A to J, ordered a set of listed facilities and activities closed and/or stopped. Section 6 was added regarding lodging restrictions and exceptions.

Following release of Addendum No. 1 to Order of the Health Officer No. C20-3, further clarifications were made, which are reflected in Addendum No. 2.

In Section 6, emphasis has been added, clarifying that “NO Hotel, Motel, vacation rental property, VRBO, recreational vehicle park, campground, timeshare or other similar facilities… shall rent or provide accommodations to any person until such time [Order of the Health Officer No. C20-3] is modified or rescinded,” unless one of the exceptions listed in the Order is determined applicable.

Additionally, changes were made to Section number 7, prohibiting recreational boating activity on all public waterways in the unincorporated areas and cities within the boundaries of Lake County.

Clarifications indicate the order, “applies to all motorized and non-motorized vessels, or any device designed or used to transport a person or persons across water.”

Additionally, language was added to specify that vessels “currently moored or docked do not need to be removed from the lake, but shall not be used for the duration of the order.”

Shown below is a flow chart for lodging businesses.

Also published below are versions of Addendum No. 2 in English and Spanish.

For more information, visit the Lake County Health Services Department’s website, email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or call the department during business hours at 707-263-8174.

Lodging COVID-19 Mitigation Support Flow Chart by LakeCoNews on Scribd

Lake PH Order Shelter in Place 03.23.2020 C20-3 (A2) 03.23.2020 by LakeCoNews on Scribd

Actividades y Reuniones en Persona Para Detener o Ser Cancelado Addenda ... by LakeCoNews on Scribd

On Sunday evening, President Donald Trump approved a request submitted by California Gov. Gavin Newsom earlier in the day for a Presidential Major Disaster Declaration to support the state's COVID-19 emergency response.

“The declaration will supplement our state’s comprehensive COVID-19 surge planning and make vital resources available. We appreciate the quick response and partnership from the White House,” said Newsom.

It was the third Presidential Major Disaster Declaration that President Trump approved on Sunday to help the states hit hardest by COVID-19. He also signed declarations for New York and Washington state.

The Governor’s Office reported that the declaration includes any and all individual assistance programs to assist those affected by the outbreak and lessen the economic impacts of the crisis.

It will provide additional assistance, including but not limited to, mass care and emergency assistance, crisis counseling, disaster case management, disaster unemployment assistance, disaster legal services and Disaster Supplemental Nutrition Assistance.

Also on Sunday, the president announced other measures to assist California, including approving Newsom’s request from Thursday to deploy the USNS Mercy hospital ship to the Port of Los Angeles, where it’s expected to be in place within a week; federal medical stations with 2,000 additional beds for California have been authorized; and the National Guard has been activated.

Californians remain under Newsom’s stay at home order, issued on Thursday evening, meant to stop the spread of the virus, which so far hasn’t been confirmed by testing in Lake County. Earlier that same day, Lake County’s shelter in place order went into effect.

Congressman Mike Thompson, whose Fifth Congressional District includes the southern portion of Lake County, lauded the president’s decision to declare a major disaster in California due to the Coronavirus pandemic.

On Sunday, Thompson wrote to President Trump to ask for the declaration in response to the pandemic, which began on Jan. 20.

“Our state has been hit hard by the Coronavirus pandemic, and we are working together to combat it and support each other,” said Thompson, adding he was pleased to see the president issue the declaration for the state, giving the governor and local leaders further tools and resources to combat this crisis.

“This is a good first step, but we must continue this effort. Know that I will do everything I can to bring back every federal dollar and resource to bear on our work to help our state through this public health emergency. I also want to remind everyone that we must all do our part to reduce the spread of coronavirus. Stay at home, listen to public health officials and together we will get through this,” Thompson said.

Email Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Follow her on Twitter, @ERLarson, or Lake County News, @LakeCoNews.

LAKEPORT, Calif. – The issue of COVID-19, its impact on the county’s workforce and price gouging will be discussed by the Board of Supervisors this week.

The board will meet beginning at 9 a.m. Tuesday, March 24, in the board chambers on the first floor of the Lake County Courthouse, 255 N. Forbes St., Lakeport.

The meeting can be watched live on Channel 8 and online at https://countyoflake.legistar.com/Calendar.aspx . Accompanying board documents, the agenda and archived board meeting videos also are available at that link.

Those planning to participate in Tuesday’s meeting are asked to contact the county in advance.
Please write the Clerk to the Board of Supervisors at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. to schedule.

Additionally, written comments regarding any agenda item may be submitted to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. by Monday, March 23, at 5 p.m., for inclusion in the public record. Please note the item number addressed by any written comment.

At 9:10 a.m., the board will get an update from Public Health Officer DR. Gary Pace.

In an untimed item, the board will consider a resolution relating to workplace safety, employee leave and remote work in response to COVID-19, and continue its discussion and consideration of accommodations to facilitate electronic access to Board of Supervisors meetings in light of COVID-19.

Also on the agenda as an untimed item, the board will consider an urgency ordinance prohibiting rental housing price gouging and unlawful evictions in the unincorporated areas of the county during a state of emergency.

The full agenda is below.

CONSENT AGENDA

5.1: Approve addition of special meeting to the board’s annual meeting calendar for 2020.

5.2: Approve Application for Proposition 64 Public Health & Safety Grant.

5.3: Sitting as the Lake County Air Quality Management District Board of Directors, request to authorize the air pollution control officer to sign and submit the grant agreement between the district and CARB for the Woodsmoke Reduction Program, operate a woodstove changeout program, and sign all other program documents.

5.4: Adopt proclamation designating March 24, 2020, as National Agriculture Day.

5.5: Second Reading: Adopt Ag Department ordinance for industrial hemp regulations.

5.6: Adopt a resolution authorizing the Public Services director to submit applications to the California Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery, or CalRecycle, for all available grants.

5.7: (a) Waive the competitive bidding process in accordance with County Code Section 2-38.2 because the unique nature of the goods or services precludes competitive bidding for the repair of the elevator located in the Lake County Historic Courthouse Museum; and (b) direct the Public Services director/assistant purchasing agent to sign the agreement with Dream Ride Elevator in the amount of $92,310.

5.8: Adopt proclamation commending Lyle Swartz, Public Works Road superintendent, for his service to the county of Lake.

5.9: Approve the 2020/21 Department of Boating and Waterways Financial Aid Program agreement in the amount of $315,312 to fund the sheriff/marine patrol budget unit 2205, and authorize the sheriff to sign.

5.10: Approve sealed bid 20-08 for the purchase of radio equipment for the St. Helena Communications site and authorize the sheriff/coroner or his designee to issue a purchase order to Dailey Wells Communications.

5.11: Approve the second amendment to lease agreement between the county of Lake and Gary Weiser and Shelly Weiser, for $15,000 per fiscal year from July 1, 2020, to June 30, 2025, for the Office Space Located at 4477 Moss Ave, Unit C, Clearlake, and authorize the chair to sign.

TIMED ITEMS

6.2, 9:06 a.m.: (a) Presentation of proclamation designating March 24, 2020, as National Agriculture Day; and (b) presentation of proclamation commending Public Works Road Superintendent Lyle Swartz for his service to the county of Lake.

6.3, 9:10 a.m.: Consideration of update on COVID-19.

6.4: 9:30 a.m.: Public hearing, appeal to Board of Supervisors, AB 19-03 for Minor Use Permit MUP 18-10 (Sandtner/Frey).

6.5, 10:30 a.m.: Public hearing, continued to April 7, Industrial Hemp Zoning Ordinance Text Amendment (AM 20-01) Categorical Exemption (CE 20-07).

UNTIMED ITEMS

7.2: (a) Consideration of resolution of the county of Lake Board of Supervisors relating to workplace safety, employee leave and remote work in response to COVID-19; and (b) continued discussion and consideration of accommodations to facilitate electronic access to Board of Supervisors (BOS) meetings in light of COVID-19.

7.3: Consideration of an urgency ordinance prohibiting rental housing price gouging and unlawful evictions in the unincorporated areas of the county of Lake during a state of emergency.

CLOSED SESSION

8.1: Conference with labor negotiator: (a) chief negotiator: M. Long; county negotiators: C. Huchingson and P. Samac; and (b) employee organizations: LCDDAA, LCDSA, LCCOA, LCEA, LCSEA and LCSMA.

8.2: Conference with (a) temporary representatives designated to meet with county department heads regarding salary and benefits and (b) unrepresented management employees.

8.3: Conference with legal counsel: Significant exposure to litigation pursuant to Government Code section 54956.9(d)(2), (e)(3) Threat of litigation – city of Clearlake.

8.4: Public employee evaluations title: Interim Community Development director/ Interim Water Resource director/ Public Works director.

Email Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . Follow her on Twitter, @ERLarson, or Lake County News, @LakeCoNews.

 

Why don’t we have drugs to treat COVID-19 and how long will it take to develop them?

SARS-CoV-2 – the coronavirus that causes the disease COVID-19 – is completely new and attacks cells in a novel way. Every virus is different and so are the drugs used to treat them. That’s why there wasn’t a drug ready to tackle the new coronavirus that only emerged a few months ago.

As a systems biologist who studies how cells are affected by viruses during infections, I’m especially interested in the second question. Finding points of vulnerability and developing a drug to treat a disease typically takes years. But the new coronavirus isn’t giving the world that kind of time. With most of the world on lockdown and the looming threat of millions of deaths, researchers need to find an effective drug much faster.

This situation has presented my colleagues and me with the challenge and opportunity of a lifetime: to help solve this huge public health and economic crisis posed by the global pandemic of SARS-CoV-2.

Facing this crisis, we assembled a team here at the Quantitative Biosciences Institute (QBI) at the University of California, San Francisco, to discover how the virus attacks cells. But instead of trying to create a new drug based on this information, we are first looking to see if there are any drugs available today that can disrupt these pathways and fight the coronavirus.

The team of 22 labs, that we named the QCRG, is working at breakneck speed – literally around the clock and in shifts – seven days a week. I imagine this is what it felt like to be in wartime efforts like the Enigma code-breaking group during World War II, and our team is similarly hoping to disarm our enemy by understanding its inner workings.

A stealthy opponent

Compared with human cells, viruses are small and can’t reproduce on their own. The coronavirus has about 30 proteins, whereas a human cell has more than 20,000.

To get around this limited set of tools, the virus cleverly turns the human body against itself. The pathways into a human cell are normally locked to outside invaders, but the coronavirus uses its own proteins like keys to open these “locks” and enter a person’s cells.

Once inside, the virus binds to proteins the cell normally uses for its own functions, essentially hijacking the cell and turning it into a coronavirus factory. As the resources and mechanics of infected cells get retooled to produce thousands and thousands of viruses, the cells start dying.

Lung cells are particularly vulnerable to this because they express high amounts of the “lock” protein SARS-CoV-2 uses for entry. A large number of a person’s lung cells dying causes the respiratory symptoms associated with COVID-19.

There are two ways to fight back. First, drugs could attack the virus’s own proteins, preventing them from doing jobs like entering the cell or copying their genetic material once they are inside. This is how remdesivir – a drug currently in clinical trials for COVID-19 – works.

A problem with this approach is that viruses mutate and change over time. In the future, the coronavirus could evolve in ways that render a drug like remdesivir useless. This arms race between drugs and viruses is why you need a new flu shot every year.

Alternatively, a drug can work by blocking a viral protein from interacting with a human protein it needs. This approach – essentially protecting the host machinery – has a big advantage over disabling the virus itself, because the human cell doesn’t change as fast. Once you find a good drug, it should keep working. This is the approach that our team is taking. And it may also work against other emergent viruses.

Learning the enemy’s plans

The first thing our group needed to do was identify every part of the cellular factory that the coronavirus relies on to reproduce. We needed to find out what proteins the virus was hijacking.

To do this, a team in my lab went on a molecular fishing expedition inside human cells. Instead of a worm on a hook, they used viral proteins with tiny chemical tags attached to them - termed a “bait.” We put these baits into lab-grown human cells and then pulled them out to see what we caught. Anything that stuck was a human protein that the virus hijacks during infection.

By March 2, we had a partial list of the human proteins that the coronavirus needs to thrive. These were the first clues we could use. A team member sent a message to our group, “First iteration, just 3 baits … next 5 baits coming.” The fight was on.

Counterattack

Once we had this list of molecular targets the virus needs to survive, members of the team raced to identify known compounds that might bind to these targets and prevent the virus from using them to replicate. If a compound can prevent the virus from copying itself in a person’s body, the infection stops. But you can’t simply interfere with cellular processes at will without potentially causing harm to the body. Our team needed to be sure the compounds we identified would be safe and nontoxic for people.

The traditional way to do this would involve years of pre-clinical studies and clinical trials costing millions of dollars. But there is a fast and basically free way around this: looking to the 20,000 FDA-approved drugs that have already been safety-tested. Maybe there is a drug in this large list that can fight the coronavirus.

Our chemists used a massive database to match the approved drugs and proteins they interact with to the proteins on our list. They found 10 candidate drugs last week. For example, one of the hits was a cancer drug called JQ1. While we cannot predict how this drug might affect the virus, it has a good chance of doing something. Through testing, we will know if that something helps patients.

Facing the threat of global border shutdowns, we immediately shipped boxes of these 10 drugs to three of the few labs in the world working with live coronavirus samples: two at the Pasteur Institute in Paris and Mount Sinai in New York. By March 13, the drugs were being tested in cells to see if they prevent the virus from reproducing.

Dispatches from the battlefield

Our team will soon learn from our collaborators at Mt. Sinai and the Pasteur Institute whether any of these first 10 drugs work against SARS-CoV-2 infections. Meanwhile, the team has continued fishing with viral baits, finding hundreds of additional human proteins that the coronavirus co-opts. We will be publishing the results in the online repository BioRxiv soon.

The good news is that so far, our team has found 50 existing drugs that bind the human proteins we’ve identified. This large number makes me hopeful that we’ll be able to find a drug to treat COVID-19. If we find an approved drug that even slows down the virus’s progression, doctors should be able to start getting it to patients quickly and save lives.

[You need to understand the coronavirus pandemic, and we can help. Read our newsletter.]

Nevan Krogan, Professor and Director of Quantitative Biosciences Institute, University of California, San Francisco

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.